Major names in show business manned the phones, taking donations in LA, New York and Nashville.

Among the dozens of stars lending a hand: Oprah Winfrey, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman.

The show biz community gathered "hand in hand" to help raise money - fast - for people hit hard by the hurricanes.

Actor Wilmer Valderrama said of his profession: "We are that secondary army that's deployed to just do something that very few can achieve and I think that that's a blessing. That's a gift."

"When a tragedy like this happens, and it's a natural disaster, you don't want to feel alone," said actress Marcia Gay Harden. "You're American. You want to feel like your fellow Americans care. And that's what it's all about."

Barbra Streisand told us: "It was hitting home for me because on my last tour, I started in Houston and then I finished three cities in Florida - ending in Miami."

As the telecast began, Leonardo DiCaprio said, "Let's join hands and lift the victims out of the darkness."

Later, Justin Timberlake made a plea to viewers, saying, "Let's give and give and give what we can."

As the calls came in, the stars were there to answer them.

Actor Craig Robinson told ABC7: "The people calling in were pouring their hearts out on the phone and they were so special and so giving and so gracious."

Singer-songwriter Luis Fonsi, who performed "Hallelujah" with Tori Kelly, was moved by viewers making donations.

"A lot of people who called have not been affected or they don't know anybody who's been affected," Fonsi said. "They just want to help. And to me, that's so powerful."